The latest report from Pay Our Interns (POI), "Who Congress Pays: Analysis of Lawmakers' Use of Intern Allowances in the 116th Congress," illustrates that more must be done to diversify congressional internships – a critical entryway into public service and the legislative branch. According to POI research, while the majority of House and Senate members are utilizing the paid intern allowances, more than three-quarters of these paid interns were white and went to private universities – disproportionate statistics when compared to the national undergraduate population.
Congressional internships are the starting point for many of us in public service – they can literally be life-changing and career-altering. Internships tend to be the beginning of the staffing pipeline, and the most common source for offices when filling positions. The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) encourages all House and Senate offices to use their paid intern allowances and to consider ways in which your office can diversify who you place in your office.
In its report, Pay Our Interns identified ways to democratize the administration of congressional internships:
- Recruit from communities of color/be more intentional in outreach to minority-serving institutions and public colleges
- Promote and allow for remote internships
- Expand funding to increase stipends
- Provide committees with paid intern allowances
- Support data collection & transparency on interns
CMF is proud to be a member of Representative Democracy, a coalition of think tanks, nonpartisan organizations, practitioners and civil rights groups that recognize diversity strengthens our institutions of government and authenticates our tradition of democracy and civic engagement. As former congressional staff and interns ourselves, we are also proud to participate in the "Virtual Hill Intern Project" cohort of organizations and individuals who came together last year to support remote congressional internships.
For additional assistance on how your office can improve its hiring and management of interns, we have highlighted below some resources from CMF and these collaborators, including the Modernization Staff Association (MSA), Pay Our Interns, TourTrackr, POPVOX LegiDash, College to Congress, and Representative Democracy.
Additional Resources
- House Office of Diversity & Inclusion
- Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative
- ARTICLE - A Disservice to the Policymaking (summarizes the report findings and includes the perspective of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former intern)
- VIDEO - Must Know Facts About The House Paid Internship Program
- 1-PAGER - How to Pay Congressional Interns
- CHECKLIST - Managing Remote Interns for Success
- WEBINAR – Successfully Managing Remote Interns
- WEBINAR/SLIDES - Hiring an Effective and Diverse Staff
- REPORT - Building and Maintaining a Diverse and Inclusive Congressional Office: An Introductory Guide for Congressional Staff and Leadership
- TRAINING – Send Your Intern Candidates to C2C-U
- SIGN UP – Become a Congressional Champion
